IF I KNEW YOU WERE COMING, I'D HAVE BAKED A CAKE
A Traveling Storytelling Installation and Pop-Up Shop Presented by Put A Egg On It
If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d Have Baked A Cake grew out of our fascination with sharing food and stories and welcoming unexpected visitors. Beginning in Tokyo and continuing around the world, Put A Egg On It has been creating portraits of people through the stories they tell and the meals they share. Each encounter reveals both the common threads and the singular moments that connect us through food. Guests are invited to trade a story about a particularly memorable meal in exchange for a meal prepared while they talk. The pop-up shop includes items collected from each city the installation has visited.
If I Knew You Were Coming, I’d Have Baked A Cake debuted at ROCKET gallery in Tokyo in July 2013, with a satellite installation at Tsutaya Daikanyama T-Site. The second installment took place at Press Street in New Orleans during the Prospect New Orleans Art Biennial in November 2014. Our third Cake was hosted by the Ace Hotel in London in 2016, followed by a fourth at the Cape Town Street Food Festival in 2017.
We’re currently planning to bring Cake to new cities in 2026, continuing to gather stories, recipes, and exchanges that explore how food stirs up memories and makes room for connection between strangers.
Download the media kit here.
Students from the after-school writing program THE BIG CLASS at Press Street trade stories of interesting meals for food prepared by Put A Egg On It
The Pop-up at Press Street in New Orleans included a selection of independent art and food magazines
as well as a selection of packaged food from Brooklyn and Tokyo.